Ah, ha ha ha...Hi... (Rora/Krys)

Aurora poked at the frilly purple dress that she had to wear for her latest going-out. Groaning, she changed it into a simple black dress that flowed to her knees and changed her hair into a dark, rippling sheet of black hair. Sometimes, being a shapeshifter made her feel like a fraud.

Then someone coughed.

Krystian had been raised in a Fae community. The only other creatures he had ever seen were mermaids, elves, and tree spirts; that was it. Never had he seen a shapeshifter before in his life. That is, until today.

Krys had recently joined the Resistance, having just "left the nest" as his mother had put it, so he hadn't really seen much of anybody. So, when he had decided to hang around the Resistance Cave, he hadn't really expected to actually see a shapeshifter, well, shift.

It didn't help that he had been drinking water at the time.

Krys walked into a semi-secluded area of the cave, sipping at a crystalized flower that held water nonchalantly. He didn't know what he would find, but he definatly didn't think that he would see a (pretty) girl gofrom being blond with a frillypurple dress to a ravenette with a black dress.

The fae choked on the water, coughing and spluttering as he tried to get it out of his lungs.

"Eep!" squealed Aurora, whirling around. She saw a handsome boy -- a fae, perhaps -- choking on water. "I'm sorry!" the shapeshifter said guiltily. "I -- I didn't know that anyone would be...you know...here."

She covered her eyes and patted the fae on the back. "Are you okay?" she asked, biting her lip.

"I -- I didn't know that anyone would be...you know...here," the shifter said, patting his back to help get the water out. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Krys spluttered, clearfing his throat repeatedly.

"Uh, sorry for, um, coming in like that," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I-I'm Krystian, uhm, Jhettfyre, but my fr-friends call me Krys for short."

Smooth, Krys thought, mentally facepalming.

"Rora," said Aurora, sticking out her hand and waiting for the fae to shake it. Krystian Jhettfyre? She'd heard of that name.

Ah! The new Resistance member. How nice. He was a fae, she dimly recalled. Eh. It was always worth a try....

"Rora's short for Aurora. I'm Aurora Danaera."

She waited for the name to sink in. Perhaps he wouldn't know who she was, but somehow she doubted it. In the black market, she was largely known, and everyone who signed up for the Resistance had to know that she was the leader.

Still.

It was a bit presumptuous of her.

Krystian shook the girl's, Rora's, hand hesitantly. e had never actually talked to a Fae girl before (well, one that wasn't related to him), let alone a shifter girl. To say he was nervous would be the understatement of the century.

"I'm Aurora Danaera," she said. Krys knew that he should know that name, but he just couldn't remember why. It was on the tip of his tongue too.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling at the dark haired girl.

"So, is that your natural look, or was the blond hair...?" Krys asked, trailing off with a nervous laugh, hoping that she didn't take it personally.

Aurora shook his hand and let it drop. His lack of recognition when she said her name made her smile. How amazing it was to talk to someone who wasn't trying to suck up to her to make them a better position in the Resistance.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," she said as well. "It's alway nice to meet a noob." She laughed. "A newbie. And no, this isn't my natural look."

She hesitated.

Should she? Or shouldn't she? These were dangerous times.

But she liked to feel dangerous.

Aurora grimaced, feeling like she'd regret it later, and turned into her natural form. She was striking, even she had to admit that, with blonde hair that went a few inches past her shoulder, and light brown eyes. But although she was pretty in human standards, fae were much more "endowed" in that area.

Especially him, she thought with a little smile, eying him slightly. Then -- snap out of it Rora! He's a Fae, you're the head of the Resistance, stop flirting like a lovestruck girl!

"Well that's nice," Krys laughed as Rora called him a 'noob'. He had never heard the term before and he just found it funny.

He felt his jaw drop a fraction when she shifted her appearance to the one he had glimpsed earlier. She was...wow. While he'll admit that Fae girls were what most guys prefered with their pixie like features and otherworldly beauty, Krys wasn't as attracted to them as others would be.

Krys tried to think of something to say, but he was at a loss for words. With practicaly no experiance when it came to girls, he didn't really know what.

"Uh, you, you're...wow," he stuttered, not realizing that he was speaking out loud.

"Uh, you, you're...wow," said Krystian.

Aurora blushed and shifted her feet. Just then a person burst into the cave, saying, "Aurora, there's to be a meeting a nine tomorrow, okay? We do need our leader."

Oh.

Crap.

"Right," said Aurora with a mildly disappointed air. Man, she had looked forward to Krys not knowing about the fact that she was the leader of the Resistance. "I-I'll be there."

The person nodded and went out of the cave.

Aurora turned to Krys with an apologetic look.

As soon as he saw the blush dusted across Rora's cheeks, Krystian knew that he had said that last thougt outloud. His eyes widened, and he stumbled over his words as he tried to apologize.

"S-sorry! I-I-I didn't r-realize, I-I mean, I d-didn't m-mean t-to say that out-outloud!" Krys exclaimed, his face tinging with red.

"Aurora, there's to be a meeting a nine tomorrow, okay? We do need our leader," somebody said as they entered the room.

Right. I-I'll be there," Aurora said and the person disappeared. She looked over at him apollegetically, but he didn't understand what she could possibly be sorry about.

"I have to apologize," Krystian said, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I didn't realize I was talking to such an important person to the Resistance. I'm sorry if I offended you..."

Krys' eyebrows knitted together in confusion before it clicked. That's why her name was so fmailiar! She was the leader of the Resistance. He mentally facepalmed, not believing that he could forget such an importnat detail.

"S-sorry! I-I-I didn't r-realize, I-I mean, I d-didn't m-mean t-to say that out-outloud!" Krys said and Aurora just had to stifle a grin. She was quite flattered, and he was adorable.

Shut up, Rora. Seriously! She was acting like a flirtatious girl. As he pieced together who she was, she winced. Good god, she hoped that he didn't start acting all formal around her.

"Yeah, hi," she said a bit weakly.

Krystian coughed, not knowing how to break the awkwardness that he felt was suffocating him.

"So, um, what's it like, uh, being a shifter," Krys asked, saying the first thing that poppd into his head.

Nice. So smart, Krys, he thought, mentally rolling his eyes.

"What's it like being a shifter," said Aurora, repeating what she just said. Quirking an eyebrow, she shapeshifted two specks of dust to form chairs that went under them. "It's...interesting. You get to be whoever you want."

But it just doesn't feel real.

She didn't say that part out loud, but it was in her mind, running around like mad. Frowning, her hands gripped the side of the chair as she looked up with a forced smile.

It doesn't feel real because she's never felt real.

Of course, she didn't say that part out either.

"What's it like being a Fae?"

Krystian couldn't help but gawk slightly as two chairs came out seemingly out of nowhere. He sat in the one across from her, wary, as if it would disappear right from under him.

Krys smiled at her, but something seemed off.

"What's it like being a Fae?"

"Well, it's different, I guess. I mean, we have wings, and we can, uh, use some magic. I don't know how much magic we can do, I don't exactly like doing magic. And, um, there's one more thing," Krys explained, not wanting to go on.

Honestly, it was kind embarrassing to him even though he had grown up around dozens of people who could do the same thing.

"We can, uh, turntinywhenwewantto," he rushed out, his cheeks turnign a rosy color.

Aurora nodded, listening attentively to when he talked about being a fae.

But then...

"We can, uh, turntinywhenwewantto," said Krys, slurring the sentence.

Her eyes widened.

She threw her head back and laughed, blonde hair rippling down her back in waves. "I'm sorry," she said, covering her mouth and snickering. "But..."

Gah. Get your mind out of the gutter! she ordered herself.

She felt her cheeks turning rosy with all that laughter and, feeling especially daring, put a hand on Krys'. "Sorry," she said, voice still choked with laughter that bubbled up accordingly. "That was mean of me. Shapeshifters can't take the power of whatever creature they're in. So if I shapeshifted into a fae, I don't have the powers of the fae."

The person burst into the room again. "Aurora!" he said impatiently. "Dangerous structural fall in the west wing. We need your help."

Aurora groaned. "Um. I'll be right back. Or..." Her eyes brightened. "You can come with me."

His face turned a bright red, he was sure of it, when Aurora started laughing. He knew that it wasn't the least comical thing in the world, but he didn't think that it was that amusing.

Krys' face burned even more when she touched his hand. He was pretty sure that he wass making it out to seem more intamate than she meant it to be, but he didn't really care.

He tried to find his voice to say something, anything, but, before he could, the same person burst into the room.

"Aurora!" he said impatiently. "Dangerous structural fall in the west wing. We need your help."

"Um. I'll be right back. Or...you can come with me," Rora said, her eyes brightening.

"Uh, sure. If you want me to," Krys said, grinning slightly.

"Oh, good!" said Aurora when he agreed to come with her. She twirled slightly, turning into a red-haired girl with bright green eyes and whisked off after the person. "Have you been around the Resistance area?" she asked as they went down a hall lit with lamps and flickering candles.

Krystian was still amazed at how easy it seemed for Aurora to change her appearance. But, despite his awe, he still preferred her natural look. He couldn't really think of why, but he just did.

Following behind the now red haired girl, Krys had to think about whether or not he had actually gotten acquainted with the area.

"I suppose not. I've been to the main parts, but I never actually ventured much deeper," he answered, keeping pace with her as they walked.

"Mm. Then you're in for a treat." Aurora gave him a saucy wink.

As they progressed further down, bowls of glowing white fluid lit the hallway. Moss curled up on the walls and occasionally grew in glowing patches on the ceiling. "Fantastic, isn't it?" asked Aurora, gesturing. At the sudden movement, moths with large fantastical blue and gold wings fluttered up and out.

Krystian felt a blush creep up his neck and settle on his cheeks. Even though Aurora was most likely not flirting with him, his body seemed to take everything she did as if she was.

Luckily, he was able to distract himself from her with the beauty of the cave they were in. It was so surreal that he couldn't help but gape.

"Fantastic, isn't it?" Aurora asked.

"Amazing," he breathed, too awestruck to speak louder. "You found this place?" Krys asked, tearing his eyes away to look at Rora.